Travel to the provinces usually peak at certain times of the year in the Philippines. Those include Christmas, Holy Week and Undas when there are usually several holidays to put together for a relatively long vacation or break especially for those who are working or studying. Many who are located in the big cities actually hail from the provinces. In my case, for example, I consider Iloilo as my hometown and I have traveled to my father’s hometown in Cabatuan most of my Holy Weeks as a child and teenager. Sometimes, we go there for Christmas and New Year, too. Those two times of the years are when my father could get a long enough break for our vacation and when other family members also head to Iloilo for vacation. The result is a reunion of sorts for family. I think the more suitable term is ‘homecoming’ since we all would ‘travel home’ and actually stay at the ancestral home along Serrano Street.

Many others do this homecoming every year, and probably go home thrice a year including Undas, which is usually the shortest among the three. Airports, ports and bus terminals are usually crowded or congested during these times as other people also take advantage of the holidays to travel elsewhere (not their hometowns). The past years see people going abroad (Japan and Korea for a time, then Europe and Australia some years, and so on) or local destinations (beaches or perhaps Baguio for cooler temperatures). For Undas, which is the shortest break, the travels also cause what is called a U-turn as people head back almost as soon as they headed out. So roads are also congested including expressways in Luzon that bear much of the traffic as people opt for road trips rather than take the plane or boat to the provinces.

This year, the observation was the ports and bus terminals were significantly less congested. Photos of the Ports of Batangas and Calapan showed lots of space where people often crowded in the past. Bus terminals also didn’t have to contend with the usual rush of passengers including those making last minute decisions to travel and become what are called “chance passengers” as they didn’t have tickets (they didn’t purchase in advance). The speculation was that with the mounting expenses due to higher prices of commodities and travel, people probably  decided to forego travel during Undas in favor of the Christmas break. We will probably know by Christmas if this will also be the observation and perhaps in favor of the Holy Week next year.

–